Thai PM says central bank rate hikes no good for economy

BANGKOK: According to Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, the central bank’s price increases have had no positive effects on the economy and should be avoided by low-income individuals and small companies.

Thailand trails local rivals with growth projections of approximately 2.4 percent last time, short of the 2022 target, according to the state of Srettha, a real estate billionaire who took business in August, in an effort to drive growth in Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy through stimulus and consumer spending.

He stated on X social media late on Sunday ( Jan 7 ) that” the Bank of Thailand has raised interest rates despite negative inflation for many consecutive months, which is not good for the economy at all and also has an impact on people with low incomes and SMEs.”

After increasing its policy rate by 200 basis points since August of last year to control inflation, the central banks left it unchanged at 2.5 percent in November. On February 7, it will review legislation once more.

In December, headline inflation came in at -0.83 %, making it the eighth consecutive month that it fell short of the central bank’s goal of 1 % to 3 %.

By refraining from raising prices in the opposite direction of inflation, Srettha expressed his hope that the central bank had “help take care of the folks.”